Another update...

Last Wednesday we received another precious referral. She was a 10 month old girl with Clubfoot. We had her file locked for 72 hours for medical review. We sent it out to 3 different doctors and we began to pray. We really felt open to her need and excited about her and we decided that we would proceed forward, thinking that this may be the child that God has chosen for us. We asked HIM to open or close the door and give us wisdom based on HIS Will. Well, the very next day (just a few hours before we were about to submit our Letter of Intent to adopt her) we opened our email and our agency let us know that the Chinese Government had done something they had never seen them do - they pulled her file even though we had it locked and placed her with another family who had been following her for a few months. We took that as a clear "No" and we praised HIM who knows ALL THINGS! He already knows our daughter and He made it clear to us that that precious little one is not ours...
and the best part is that He gave her another family!

Friday morning I woke up and felt that Jesus wanted us to gather together and pray with others. So we sent out a few quick texts to a few friends that we thought may be available with such short notice and had them over to pray. We praised HIS Name and worshiped Him...we prayed whatever we felt Him put on our hearts, both for our adoption and for others in the room.

Mostly we just came back to praising and worshiping Him.

Our friend, Jon, shared from 2 Chronicles 20 where King Jehoshaphat was told that a vast army was coming against God's people, so he called a fast and began to praise God. He prayed, "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." (v.12)  Then the LORD raised up a prophet to speak. He said, "This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow march down against them...You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you.' " (v. 14-17)

So early in the morning they rose and Jehoshaphat "appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army saying: 'Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.' " (v. 21)

"As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another. When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; 
no one had escaped." (v. 24)

We all agreed that this is what we felt Jesus did as we all gathered to praise Him...as we worshiped His Name, He accomplished more behind the scenes than we will probably ever know! There is  power in the Name of Jesus! And there is power in PRAISING HIS HOLY NAME!!!  I have no idea what He did on Friday night as we gathered, but I know that He moved mountains in our adoption process - we could feel His Spirit moving mightily!!! He is good all the time :-)

"Ah, Sovereign LORD, You have made the Heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You." Jeremiah 32:17